Apple Carrot Salad

Another gem from Simply in Season

Apple Carrot Salad
serves 4-6 sides

1/4 cup lemon or lime juice (i used both)
2 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp honey
Mix together in large bowl until honey is dissolved

2 cups of apple (about 1 and 3/4 medium size apples)
Grate directly into the juice mixture to keep apples from browing

2 cups carrots, shredded (about 2 big, full length carrots - not minis)
1 tbsp fresh mint (omitted)
1/8 tsp salt or to taste (omitted)
1/4 cup raisins (didn't have, so thus omitted)
Toss with apples and serve immediately

I used two different kinds of apples. Also be aware that the apples and carrots release water so you'll end up with a lot of residual liquid in the bowl, which I'm sure would be delicious say, mixed into a smoothie the next day.

Harvest Soup

Another fun and delicious fall soup!
Ingredients:

1 tbls olive oil
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 lbs butternut squash, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes (about3 1/2 cups)
2 medium apples, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 cups chicken broth (I used my left-over veggie broth)

Directions:
in a big pot, heat oil on medium. Add carrots, celery, and onions. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until tender and brown.  Add squash, apples, and broth. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until squash is tender. Cool slightly

Puree soup in blender or food processor, and in a couple batches if needed. Add pepper and croutons (we skipped the croutons)

Recipe from: some parenting magazine....I forget which one

Apples Going Bad

When apples start to go bad I hate throwing them out so I usually hurry and bake something with them. Dan loves anything apple so that makes it easy. I made apple bars last night with MaryGrace while he was at class. I thought it'd be a good wintery treat for him when he got home. Plus, he could take them to work to share with the guys so they aren't around here all day for me and MG to eat.

Apple Bars

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup milk

1 large egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 1/2 cups chopped peeled apples (I got this from one apple, the recipe says two)

1 cup chopped walnuts

Spice Glaze (below)

1.     Heat oven to 350 degree. Grease bottom and sides of 13x9x2

2.     Mix brown sugar, oil, milk and egg in large bowl. Stir in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Stir in apples and walnuts. Spread in pan. (It's sticky so I used a spatula to spread. It's also a very thin dish - I thought I grabbed the wrong size pan at first but it cooked up nicely.)


3.     Bake about 20 minutes (mine took about 15 but me oven runs a little hot). Cool 30 minutes. Drizzle with Spice Glaze. Cut into 2 inch squares.

Spiced Glaze

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1-2 TBLS apple juice or milk

mix all ingredients until smooth and spreadable. The glaze really does finish this dish off. I don't normally make the little stuff recipes call for but did here and loved it.   

"Get-You-a-Husband Apple Pie"

We love this pie. The cookbook was a gift from my dear friend Linda, Memories of a Midwestern Farmer. The author states:

“The two most common mistakes people make with apple pie are using too much sugar and overwhelming the subtle flavor of the apples with spices. A dash of lemon juice helps to eliminate the syrupy taste that ruins a pie. As much as I like sweet spices, nutmeg, clove, and allspice have no place in an apple pie. Cinnamon is enough. Taste your filling as you are making it – apples vary in sweetness. Skinny pies always look sad to me, so I pour the apples into the crust and use my hands to gently pile up as much fruit as I can”

Double-Crust (I use the crust recipe from BH&G)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup butter
8-11 tbls cold water

1. Stir together flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until pieces are pea-size.

2. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the water over part of the mixture; gently toss with a fork. Push moistened dough to side of bowl. Repeat, using 1 tablespoon water at a time, until all the dough is moistened. Divide in half. Form each half into a ball. (I skip the last two parts because I do a crumb topping and Dan likes his crust thick)

3. On lightly floured surface, flatten dough ball. Roll from center to edges into 12-inch circle.

4. To transfer pastry, wrap it around the rolling pin; unroll into a 9-inch pie plate. Ease pastry into pie plate, being careful not to stretch pastry. Transfer filling to pastry-lined pie plate. Trim pastry even with rim of pie plate

Filling
Peel and core 7 medium apples, each cut into eighths. Add 1 cup of sugar, 3 rounded tablespoons of flour, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. Toss to miss well. Line the bottom of a deep dish 9-inch pie pan with an unbaked pie crust.

Crumb Topping
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 flour
3 tbls butter
Cut in butter until it's mixed well and butter is pea-size. Pour on top of filling

Bake at 400 degree for 1 hour. Put aluminum foil around the edges during the first 40minutes.

It's the best pie I've ever had. Try it! And I recommend the cookbook too. I'm pretty sure with the link above you can browse through the entire book.

Spiced Apples

Spiced Apples
2 apples (or 3), peeled and cored
1 T butter
2 T white sugar
1/2 t cinnamon

Slice apples into wedges. In a skillet, heat the butter over med-high heat. Add apples. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Cook stirring occasionally until just tender.

This is such a simple and delicious recipe. I had some apples that were less than tasty on their own, so I decided to spice them up a notch. The smell reminds me very much of fall and the Feast of the Hunter's Moon. In short, of home. I also have Annie's CD playing which always reminds me of fall.

Apple Scones

Those of you who read my other blog as well, this will be a double post. Sorry. :(

Today it’s so cold and gloomy and rainy out that I felt like baking while sipping my Earl Grey. So I scoured my cookbook and found a lovely little recipe of which I had all the ingredients: Apple Scones. They are great because not only is everything in the recipe most likely already in your pantry, but they are easy to make and taste wonderful and make your kitchen smell wonderful too.

My simple nutritious cup of tea quickly turned into a calorie-fest. But, on the other hand, I’m not cold anymore!

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, chilled
1 apple - peeled, cored and shredded
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Measure flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt into a large bowl. Cut in butter or margarine until crumbly. Add shredded apple and milk. Stir to form a soft dough.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently 8 to 10 times. Pat into two 6-inch circles. Place on greased baking sheet. Brush tops with milk, and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Score each into 6 pie-shaped wedges.
Bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 15 minutes, or until browned and risen. Serve warm with butter.

Daniel's Dumplings

I finally made apple dumplings on Saturday afternoon and it was a lot fun! Anne came over with the baby and she, of course, helped me out. Truth be told, I'm not too good when it comes to dough so her tips were a huge help.

Apple Dumplings

An easy recipe for a warm fall treat

• 4 apples, thinly sliced (the cook book is old and two apple of our modern size will work fine. I think apples were smaller back when this recipe was written)
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 3/4 teaspoons of Cinnamon

Mix all three ingredients together in bowl and set a side while making the dough.

• 2 cups flours
• 1/2 butter
• 3/4 teaspoon of salt
• 5-7 tablespoons of ice water

In mixing bowl combine flour and salt. Cut in butter with two knifes or pastry blender. Add 5 to 7 tablespoons of ice water until dough in manageable. Once dough is manageable form a ball, then divide the ball into two smaller balls. Roll each ball into a 10 inch square (square-ish will work fine) then cut 4 equal size squares. In the end you should have 8 dough sqares.

Fill each square with about 2 tablespoons of apple mixture. Top off with a little butter. Pull 4 corners of square together and pinch together so no juices leak out. Egg wash can be brushed on top of dumplings if you wish. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

Serve to a loving fiancé and you have yourself a successful recipe!

Peeling the apples


Sugar, cinnamon, and set a side

The dough was a eaiser than it usually is for me

This part is always the hardest for me, not this time though, I'm a champ!

Butter on top and they're ready to be wrapped

My first, of many to come, Apple Dumplings!